TL;DR: Sports Illustrated for Kids cards (1989–present) contain the only true Rookie Cards of many sports legends across dozens of sports. I spent 25+ years collecting autographs on them, stockpiling unsigned sheets, and in one case buying out entire print runs. As of September 2026, my collection — hundreds of signed, authenticated, and graded SI for Kids cards — is listed for sale. I have the largest inventory anywhere.
How SI for Kids Cards Got Started — and Why Collectors Ignored Them
When the first Sports Illustrated for Kids magazine came out in 1989, most card collectors and dealers paid basically zero attention. Who cares about a silly kids magazine, they thought then? Oops. Because bound inside each magazine was a perforated sheet of 9 cards of standout athletes from various sports. The first few sheets included GOATs like Wayne Gretzky and Michael Jordan.
More Than the Big Four: The Sports Diversity That Made SI for Kids Unique
But what made the card sheets unique was that it wasn't just the traditional big four American team sports (baseball, basketball, football and hockey) that were represented. It was other team sports rapidly rising in national popularity like soccer and volleyball. It was individual sports with relatively few cards like golf, racing, swimming, tennis, track and field. It was extreme sports like BMX, skateboarding and snowboarding.
Tiger Woods Changes Everything
Eventually -- 8 years after SI for Kids debuted -- when Tiger Woods won the 1997 Masters, sports card collectors immediately realized his first card -- his real Rookie Card -- was his 1996 Sports Illustrated for Kids card. The value suddenly shot up to hundreds of dollars as collectors went scurrying for that particular issue that contained Tiger's suddenly red hot RC. However, the increased interest in SI for Kids cards was focused mainly on that one specific card.
The Pandemic Boom and the Rise of SI for Kids Rookie Cards
Demand for other SI for Kids cards increased slowly but steadily over the years but it wasn't until the covid pandemic hit in 2020 that things went crazy. Trading card collectors in lockdown got all excited about SI for Kids tennis cards, especially the Serena Williams 1999 Rookie Card (yet another GOAT). They quickly started chasing other SI for Kids Rookie Card GOATs including Tony Hawk and Karch Kiraly. Collectors, dealers and investors all realized that for many superstar athletes of sports they previously ignored, their only true Rookie Cards were SI for Kids cards.
My Personal SI for Kids Autograph Chase (1989–2008)
Let's back up to the beginning. My personal interest in SI for Kids cards was immediate. In 1989 I had just started worked for Beckett Baseball Card Monthly and in my spare time in Dallas, I ran around town collecting autographs. Not just of baseball, basketball, football and hockey players either. I was already actively collecting autographs of whatever big name athletes were in town, from figure skaters to golf, soccer and tennis stars. I found the SI for Kids card sheets to be ideal for my obsession.
I obtained autographs in person on as many card sheets as I could. I stockpiled unsigned card sheets when I found them in local card shops and shows. I even sent some sheets off to paid signings. When I traveled, I always looked for opportunities to add autographs. In the 1990s I was a huge Miami Dolphins and Dan Marino fan. I usually traveled to a road game or 2 each season and if I remember correctly, I got him on his 1995 Kid Picture card on the way to the team bus at the hotel in Cincinnati.
This continued past my time at Beckett, which ended in 1998, but as the years went by it got more and more difficult to obtain sports autographs in person in general, not to mention on the sheets. I did, however, manage to complete about 10 SI for Kids 9 card sheets (occasionally with a little cheating by pasting a signed single card onto the 9 card sheet). Yes, I was pretty damn proud of myself every time I finished a sheet.
(Incidentally, I didn't completely forget about the SI for Kids magazines themselves or the mini foldout posters bound inside -- I got quite a few of them autographed and JSA authenticated also).
The GOATs I Got — and the Obscure Athletes I'm Just as Proud Of
By around 2008 I was pretty much done chasing autographs on SI for Kids cards, but I had already accumulated an incredible, one of a kind collection with several hundred autographs. GOATs or almost GOATs? Sure, I got Gretzky, Jordan, Tiger, Tom Brady, Kiraly, Hawk, Muhammad Ali, Jack Nicklaus and more to sign one or more SI for Kids cards.
But I'm actually equally proud of the much more obscure athletes I got, many of whom only known to fans of "minor" sports like bowling, lacrosse, skiing. Or legendary athletes who rarely made public appearances in the USA, like Roger Bannister and Miguel Indurain. Or great athletes who left us too soon, like Drazen Petrovic and Dave Mirra.
The Rory McIlroy Play: Buying Out an Entire Issue
In 2011, when Rory McIlroy won the U.S. Open and was featured on his SI for Kids Rookie Card, I realized his potential and bought out the entire inventory of that issue from Sports Illustrated. I don't remember how many exactly but it was several hundred magazines, and it was the best big card purchase I ever made in my life, by far. In the years since I sold hundreds of ungraded and graded McIlroy RCs (in retrospect, many too cheap). My entire inventory is now graded by Beckett Grading Services. After Rory won the 2025 and 2026 Masters, I sold tons of his RCs of all grades, even as I kept raising the prices, and -- sorry competitors -- I'm not close to running out.
Processing and Authenticating the Collection
Early this year I finally made the time to process my entire autographed SI for Kids card collection. I considered myself fortunate that not one of my signed sheets were lost or damaged over the decades including a few moves. I painstaking evaluated the collection sheet by sheet. Most sheets that were partially signed, I carefully separated into singles and the more valuable ones have been authenticated, slabbed and sometimes graded by Beckett Authentication Services. Of course, I also ended up finding some unsigned cards that were worth grading and submitted those.
What's Available Now
Finally, as of September 2026, more than 99% of my signed SI for Kids cards are listed for sale and rest should be by Thanksgiving. I also have tons of unsigned raw cards for sale and plenty more graded by BGS or Certified Sports Guaranty. I know for a fact I have the largest inventory of signed SI for Kids cards anywhere and one of the largest unsigned.
Why SI for Kids Cards Are Rarer Than You Think
Maybe you will never be as passionate about SI for Kids cards as I obviously was but consider this. Yes, SI for Kids circulation peaked at around 1 million right around when Rory's RC was issued in 2011, but are there 1 million Rory RCs still in existence? Absolutely not. The overwhelming majority of magazines printed were discarded or destroyed, and whatever SI had left, I bought.
The same goes double or triple for earlier issues. SI may have originally printed more SI for Kids cards than your average Topps or Upper Deck regular issue, but as far as the percentage that still exists? It's probably a tiny fraction. Then consider the inconsistent perforations and centering -- high grades for some years of SI for Kids are extremely rare. Autographed authenticated SI for Kids cards? Even rarer.
I hope that as you browse my ever dwindling inventory of SI for Kids cards, you'll feel some of the nostalgia and thrill that I did over a quarter century of collecting autographs on them.
